Sydney: Microsoft on Thursday announced an A$25 billion ($18 billion) investment in Australia's artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The investment was announced by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, who is visiting Australia, alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, according to a statement from the company. It marks Microsoft's largest-ever investment in Australia.

According to Anadolu Agency, the funding will support new digital infrastructure, national cyber defense capabilities, and workforce skilling programs. "This commitment will significantly expand Microsoft's Azure AI supercomputing and cloud infrastructure in Australia, expand the Microsoft-ASD Cyber-Shield to additional government agencies, deepen collaboration on national resilience with the Department of Home Affairs, and equip three million Australians with workforce-ready AI skills," the statement said.

Albanese stated that the government wants to ensure that "all Australians benefit from AI." He emphasized that the National AI Plan is focused on capturing economic opportunities associated with AI while mitigating potential risks. Nadella remarked that Australia has an "enormous opportunity to translate AI into real economic growth and societal benefit."

Microsoft also plans to expand its existing footprint across Commercial Cloud and AI/GPU offerings for Australian customers by more than 140% by the end of 2029. The company pledged A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2023 for AI infrastructure and cyber defense.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced plans to invest 1.6 trillion yen ($10 billion) in Japan to expand its artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure. The company also announced an investment of $17.5 billion in India last year to advance cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling, and ongoing operations.